734 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



LOCATIOX. 



As silage contains about 80 percent water it is a heavy feed to liandie 

 and, to avoid unnecessary labor in feeding, the silo should be placed 

 as near the manger as possible, preferably at one end of the feeding 

 alley. If the silo is inside the barn the silage chute should be provided 

 with a door which should be kept closed to prevent the silage odors 

 from entering the barn at milking time, thus avoiding the possibility of 

 their being absorbed by the milk. 



Gut 5. — Showing: Connection of Silo with Barn. 

 FORM OF SILO. 



Nearly every one who builds a silo adds some new feature, giving 

 rise to a great variety of shapes and methods of construction. Before 

 building a silo it is well to consider both the advantages and the disad- 

 vantages of the different styles, as well as the cost of each. It should be 

 borne in mind, however, that no silo is cheap, no matter how small the 

 first cost, if it does not preserve the silage perfectly. The first silos 

 in this country were usually built inside the barn and consequently the 

 square form was commonly used in order to utilize the space more com- 

 pletely. The square silo has not proved satisfactory, however, as it is 

 practically impossible to build this form so that the side walls will not 

 spring out and allow the air to pass down between the silage and the 

 wall, which invariably results in the rotting of the silage. Another dif- 

 ficulty with the square form is that the silage does not settle readily 

 in the corners and there is consequently considerable loss from this cause. 



An example of groat loss owing to the form and faulty construction 

 came under the writer's notice a few years ago when a square silo with 

 a capacity of fifty tons, was built with air-tight, but not rigid walls. 



